Forth we go : To the future
by PRSMementoDiez
Summary: Itachi couldn't quite believe his eyes and his mouth just wouldn't open; a first time experience for him. "Yo, Aniki" said his younger brother with a wide grin on his face. But something was strange, why did Sasuke appear to be over a decade and half older than him and not to mention; was he a father of 2 children? Itachi finally croaked in bewilderment, "What was the year again?"
1. Time's Up!

_**Hello, kon'nichiva, Namaste, hola, bonjour, Dear reader!**_ **[^_^]**

 **Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto or any of its characters because they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. But I own this fanfiction as, I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Why? Even I don't know that, dattebayo. (Probably, because he's Kishimoto? Hehehe) [-_-;]**

* * *

Whether for anybody else or not, it seemed to be a rather _casual_ day for the duo in question. But, halt. Your understanding of what a casual day is, would quite fuzzy if you don't understand what a casual day for a missing nin can be like-

Got ninjas on their ass?

Check.

Killed them?

Check.

Confirmed their _promotion_ in the bingo book?

Check.

Okay, now you can say that it was indeed a casual day if not outright dull for the Akatsuki duo.

So, it was. The usual kind of day, _until_ then, that is; for Itachi Uchiha and his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame. With the former being rather contented with the _dullness,_ and the latter being characteristically overly virtuous like it had been his first winning spar in academy.

They were standing, after they had casually, _slaughtered,_ some ninjas. Well, more precisely Kisame had done most or all of the job. The Uchiha stood still, unmoved, it was probably daily routine and if truth be told, he hardly ever needed to do anything since everything with Kisame went down with a whole script written full of useless showdowns.

But.

It was then, when the Uchiha's unamused eyes fell on an uncanny souvenir; when the painful casualness of the day ended.

A thin, black coloured thread with a folded piece of paper attached. To the normal eyes, it should have looked like just a normal thread which it wasn't. He observed it keenly. _**Something's off with it...** _ He knew something was off. Then he took a glance at the corpse around which he had discovered it.

Indeed.

The flesh was turning darker second by second, around the man's neck; where he was wearing it. _**He looks like a commoner to me.**_ That's what he was.

Kisame had never seen his partner so interested in something in his whole history of partnership. To his eyes, it was like watching a crow dissecting an insect and writing a thesis instead of eating it. And Itachi was also weirdly fond of those birds. Though why a crow of all birds? He always failed to understand it.

He approached Itachi, trying to get a better view of what he presumed to be something entirely out of the world to be able make him stuck to it like a fly. "What is it, Itachi?"

"Hmm..." Itachi said "A thread..." without removing his eyes off it.

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "I _see."_ and stood by his partner who wasn't paying any attention to him; waiting for an explanation.

 _ **Why is this thread weirdly heating up whenever, I put some chakra into it? I don't have much chakra but...**_ As the last resort, he activated his sharingan. _**This can be 'that'... But the flow is very different from the old ones...It's pattern less. And the chakra is so highly concentrated in such small volume... Over that, I don't think this man has any kind of connection with 'him'.**_

He observed the paper. _ **It has very low amount of chakra...And this paper isn't burning which means that... its composition is similar. But what is it?**_ He unfolded the paper. The moment his eyes fell on the paper, it caught fire and the thread began to wrap around Itachi's hand; rapidly and slightly draining out his chakra. He deactivated his sharingan. _**Wait, is it...**_

Kisame got alarmed as it tried latch itself to him too, he dodged but it succeeded in connecting with Samehada. _**Why the hell is Samehada**_ _**resonating with it?!**_ However how much brutal force he applied to remove it, everything was useless. "Itachi-san, you fell for a trap!" Unconsciously, adding an honorific to his name indicating just how agitated he was.

"It's not like you are dying, Kisame." Itachi commented on his partner's over-reaction.

He was right. The thread was simply feeding off small part of chakra from them, which was not sufficient to kill, it was not trying to bind them either. It was simply wrapping around them softly yet firmly. Like how a parasite plant latches around its host. Kisame sighed, calming his nerves. "...Do you know what it is? I definitely don't like the idea of something like this on me."

The Uchiha's lips curling up ever so slightly, "Maybe"

Kisame grunted as the resoponse _**Though**_ _ **... this is definitely better than lousy ninjas attacking us.**_ He tried to make himself feel better while the thread kept on latching itself on him.

What happened next was a little hard to comprehend for both of them, it was like the fast-forward button of the world had been pressed. There were different colours flashing and there were hundred-times more twist and turns than a roller-coaster.

Everything suddenly took a pause.

Which got them both dizzy, "Itachi-san, did you know about this?" Kisame said in a weak tone.

"I am not the sage of six paths."

With that, they both passed out.

* * *

 **A/N : I hope you enjoyed. This was only the prologue. Well, whether you liked or hated it- Please, leave a review! [^O^]**

 **Edit - Yikes! This chapter is really not very promising. Though,** **I have hardly changed anything, I felt I couldn't better it without changing the plot much. So, maybe in the future when I have completed this fic, I might change it. Well, until then I can assure anybody who's reading it that it'll get better.**

 **Next chap – Where are we?**


	2. Where are we!

**Kon'nichiva/Namaste dear reader! I hope you enjoy! [^_^]**

 **Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.**

* * *

The Uchiha had his eyes closed and was lying on the ground; he was feeling dreadful. It was worse than what he had anticipated.

It was probably half an hour behind sunset. It felt cooler; actually... it was quite a lot cooler.

Kisame had gained back consciousness and was stomping to and fro furiously, holding his head. "First we get caught by some shitty booby trap and now he's lying over there as if there's nothing wrong with being unconscious in the middle of the woods. Ah... My head's still spinning. And what's up with the sudden change in weather?"

Itachi thought that he'd rather lie down and actually take a nap like that than wake up but he really owed his partner an explanation. _**Kisame must have had it harder since he was even more unprepared than me.**_ He opened his eyes and stood up smoothly, brushing the soil off. Though he felt a sudden wave of giddiness fill him, he coped up with it somehow.

"Itachi-san, will you mind explaining?" he said with utmost patience, holding the 'now-broken' thread which he felt like burning at the first sight of.

"I have a rough idea of it." He began as the swordsman listened with attentiveness "Back then, when I was partnered with Orochimaru; he was researching over 'Kamui' and other multi-dimensional space-time ninjutsus of the sharingan. To be able to create or move in and out of dimensions. Over which his re-animation jutsu is based on. As he was able to create and move in and out of 'his' dimension with ease later on, the presence of other dimensions didn't matter to him anymore. He gave up on finding other ways of using Kamui and focussed on acquiring a sharingan by any means. This thread..." he lifted it up the other half, "Was one of those initial failed attempts..."

Now Kisame wanted to kill the snake head even more.

"But," Kisame uttered seriously, there was still a missing piece left "How can a roadside rooster get his hands on something like this?"

Itachi wasn't very sure himself, he said "That's probably for us to find out."

"But since, I don't see much change in our location and that we are not in any other dimension; I believe that it is indeed a failure." Kisame said reassuring his resolve to kill Orochimaru.

Itachi's eyes twitch minutely, "Kisame..." it wasn't like kisame to not to notice something like this, "...Take a good look around you."

The swordsman was puzzled and wasn't able to interpret what his partner meant by 'Take a good look around you', until the realization hit him "The corpses...They are gone." The whirlpool earlier, had probably affected his senses.

"And there's also a considerable change in temperature." Itachi noted. _**Almost like winter...**_

"So... You are probably trying to say that this thing actually worked?" he said while letting the information sink in.

"That's it." Itachi himself was baffled though it didn't show on his face. "But we need to confirm that first." He took a look at the position of the sun, he determined the direction. _**Even if that thing worked, it seems that it wasn't able to send us too far away, but that contradicts the old theory and the current conditions which is quite impossible.**_

"Itachi" Kisame called him out; with a new-found sedate note, "I can sense a bunch of people somewhere near. I think we need to pay them a visit to confirm our locations?" He ended with a smug face. He had found the best way to get over his frustration under a noble facade.

"That will be easier but I'll be the one to talk" Itachi replied with his very own ever-ready grave look. _**Nice try, Kisame.**_

He held back his retorts knowing how much Itachi hated violence, "Hm..." _**Yea...**_ __Now he was more than sure why he was partnered with Itachi; it was to create a pacifist out of him.

There were five heedlessly dressed men surrounding a bonfire and an unconscious kid of around 9, injured and tightly trussed up.

The two akatsuki observed them, Kisame was elated by the conclusion that they were probably some lousy bunch of rogue ninjas, the kind Itachi won't mind him pulverising if they attacked them; which they were likely to do. He smirked. _**Today is my day.**_ "There are just five of them, the kid is probably some money man's son by the looks of those amateur imbeciles... We can get the co-ordinates out of them and return the kid for a prize."

"Kisame" He pulled him out of his imaginations "We won't go for the kid. I am a little drained." Kisame opened his mouth to protest that he can do it alone too, when Itachi stated his intentions clearly "It'll serve our purpose just fine." _**By the looks of their chakra presence, they seem like chunnin-level criminals looking for ransom money, they won't be able to keep up with us. That kid...it won't be very bad to save him.**_

"Okay but you'll need to see the profits...an-" He was interrupted mid-sentence.

"There are no such orders." said Itachi deactivating his sharingan "Though, you are free to do whatever you want."

Kisame couldn't help the grin off his face. "Should I let the kid live? Your choice."

"..." Itachi decided to stay silent knowing the obvious outcome.

"Okay!" Kisame leapt from the tree.

 _ **You could just say that you want to save him...**_ He sighed at his companion's unbelievable consciousness.

Itachi saw him land right in the middle extinguishing the fire, provoking them and ongoing with his inner instinct. He tried to brush off the over-active response he got earlier. __He was feeling more drained than usual, he took a few pills. _ **The period of my sharingan usage has grown shorter and more draining. Why all of a sudden?**_ The idea of his condition becoming worse slightly displeased him. It was not the time he could fall sick. No, not before Sasuke was ready.

He felt his jaws tighten unconsciously and decided that it was just the time to plan further.

* * *

After beating them to his heart's content, Kisame couldn't do anything but sigh _**pht...we are really in the land of fire and Konoha falls pretty close, in the north from hear... Back to square one. It was refreshing though...But why do I feel drained? Maybe the headache...**_ Otherwise he was feeling so... good now, Kisame had almost forgotten to take the kid with him.

The kid was a pinkette wearing a black cloak hiding his hair and features, and was actually a lot more bruised than what was in the sight. As he broke the ropes and lifted him up, he groaned with pain and a ninja head-band fell from him. _**Konoha, huh? Well, It won't show on Itachi's face anyway.**_

Kisame arrived under the tree where he saw Itachi checking out his weapon supplies. "Look Itachi, I found another Konoha nin." He showed him the headband and gently placed the kid on the ground.

"...I see." He said without showing any interest. He had more important things in mind.

 _ **As expected...**_ Kisame knew him well, so he changed the topic "Well...we are pretty near to Konoha. Weren't we far off to it before this thread thing happened? This piece of shit actually works. Aren't you astounded?" Itachi nodded slightly as a reply.

"C-can y..you plea..se hel..p me...?" came a voice from the ground.

Kisame said to him more like a question "You woke up pretty fast for your injuries, skinny-looking kid."

The kid pointed towards the small ninja pocket on his back "p..please"

The swordsman removed his cloak, earning a restless response from the kid. _**S**_ _ **hit...not the cloak...**_ the pinkette cursed helplessly; revealing blood-bathed robes and nailed hands.

Clear signs of torture.

Kisame injected the medicine he had found as per as the faces the little pinkette made.

Meanwhile... Itachi's eyes were inspecting something very familiar on the back of the kid – The Uchiha crest. And the astonishment clearly showed on his face.

It was a big thing.

The kid groaned incessantly for a couple of minutes as the wounds seemed to have disappeared in thin air. _**He healed? Heck, it was regeneration!**_ Kisame shouted inside. "What was that? I'll like to buy that." he placed words while trying to maintain his composure.

The kid was taking deep breaths "That...hah...was regenerative medicine, it heals your wounds by increasing the rate of recovery and as a result, it drains your chakra out and cause some exhaustion." He added pensively "But, I can't sell it."

He stared at the kid and cursed darkly _**Ungrateful little...That's why I hate kids.**_ "...I think I should just hand him over to those ninjas. What say, Itachi?"

The pinkette sprang up "Don't just jump over to conclusions, sir! It's that the medicine is made for me, you might just mutate if you took it. I'll get you one suitable for you without any cost." He said in frantic attempt to clarify himself.

 _ **Sir? That's why I hate kids other than the pink haired ones...**_ "Are you a medic? Or an apprentice of one? I mean to have such a medicine..."

"None" was the straight reply "I am not a medic... My graduation ceremony is next to next week. Though my mother used to be quite the famed one..." _**Oops, that slipped out. Well, they don't know who I am even after seeing that medicine and my crest, it is very weird for someone to not to know... Though will it be safe to let my facade slip? They may be one of those...people... and kill me the moment I tell them my name. This one doesn't seem very bad but this guy's companion seems to have something fishy going on in his head.**_

He shifted his gaze towards Itachi _**I almost mistook him for dad a sec there, he's like his younger version. How can there be such a sharp resemblance?**_

Itachi met his gaze with a greeting nod. "Your good name, please?"

He was feeling very nervous due to the messed up platter of feelings forming within him. The uncanny resemblance greatly agitated him. He stuttered "K-kurasu; I mean Kurasu Haruno." _**Calm down, he's not dad so I don't need to feel nervous while bluffing to him. And it's my second name anyway...**_

"So, Haruno..." Itachi asked bluntly "Is wearing the Uchiha crest a fashion? Or, a trick to conceal your original identity for some reason? Because you know..." Kurasu gulped hard _**Hell, this guy doesn't only look like dad!**_ while Kisame was also trying to determine the possibilities while clenching and unclenching the thread in his hand.

"It's stupid" Itachi ended with a soft face.

"What's stupid...?" _**Did he just call me stupid?**_ It was unexpected for him.

"You using the Uchiha crest...you'll be caught easily because the whole Uchiha clan was massacred not very long ago."

It sounded so absurd to Kurasu's ears; he started laughing "I guess you are using some sorta jutsu to look younger..." _**It's almost like they are from another world**_ "Because your memory's pretty bad... It's been quite a while since the massacre... Like almost 35 years or so... In which world are you living? There's a whole barrage of sharingan users in Konoha..." _**They are nothing like natural descendants though...**_

The two parteners gave a meaningful look to each other saying- _**He's probably a runaway from Konoha's mental asylum...No?**_

Kurasu took deep breaths to calm himself _**These two are funny**_ "Well, I didn't quite catch your names either so can you…"

"Itachi Uchiha"

"Hoshigaki Kisame"

They both stated their names thinking that what use will come in hiding their names from a mentally ill kid.

 _ **What the hell... Is this really some co-incidence or... They don't know anything about current events, they don't know me, and they are wearing such old akatsuki robes... stealing from a museum is highly unlikely. He's the carbon copy of dad and the other one seems to have a fishy sword somewhat like Samehada I saw back then. To think hadn't there been a robbery at the hideout? Could it be...NO! Don't jump to conclusions Kurasu! Remember what nee-chan had taught you. 'You don't search for evidences according to your theory; you look out for evidences and make a theory out of them.'**_ "Hey..." _**You need to...dig in a little!**_ "I forgot to say thanks for saving my life. I am really glad. Is there anything I can assist you with?" he said with a refreshing smile.

"Ahh... just buy me that medicine. It'll be enough." Kisame said it like the most obvious thing in the world.

 _ **Great!**_ He beamed,"Then you can accompany me to my village. I'll get you one."

Itachi said to Kisame interrupting their short-lived feeling of comradeship "We have more important things to do, Kisame."

"No! You can't not come with me." _**What am I saying? That sounded pathetically weird.**_ He calmed his brain as to not to sound suspicious, _**Think!**_ "...I mean, I'll go to hell if I don't give you something in return."

"Yes, Itachi. The kid will go to hell because of you. Don't you feel compassion for the kid you just saved?" Kisame stated simply keeping himself completely out of the question.

 _ **You saved him.**_ Itachi corrected him in his mind. "Apparently, you have forgotten about what we were about to do." He showed him the thread to remind him about the priority of the moment.

Kisame grumbled exasperatedly, recovering his urge to kill the snake head, "So, unfortu-"

"WAIT!" _**I was right! So, this guy is...**_ He was so happy at the thought of how meticulously he had solved the problem; he felt like an about-to-explode volcano.

The both of them were worried if the kid got into a fit or something.

Kurasu cleared his throat and calmed his exaggerated face "Is that..." Kurasu tried to sound as oblivious as he could "I have seen that somewhere. Hmm...Ah!" while the two partners kept on exchanging glances frequently.

"Does that thread heat up whenever you put in chakra to it?" _**How long do I need to keep up the act? Well, reconfirming it won't kill me.**_ He was getting impatient.

Itachi said "Yes it does. Do you know what this is?" _**So, seems he may not be totally crazy.**_ Kisame gave an assuring nod.

"Yes, I know some stuff about it." His impatience was now crossing limits. _**Wait, wait, wait. If they really are who I think they are, then no way in hell will they believe ME saying 'Yo, this is time-travelling thread', I'll have to tell them carefully. One mistake may end up causing ghastly changes to the present.**_ "Well, actually I know a lot about it. The creator is very close to me." _**Best way –Being honest in the right way**_ "It works over the principal of yin-yang release and high-level space-time ninjutsus. Some sorta dimension thing."

 _ **He sounds reliable. And maybe he has something to do with that commoner having that thread. Or, maybe that thread belonged to him? This kid is very suspicious.**_ Itachi said giving a meaningful look to Kisame"I see. Then, truthfully tell us..."

Kisame took out a kunai in with swift movement and pinned the kid against a tree "...do you have any connection with that snake-head, Orochimaru?"

"Hey! Are you crazy?! I am telling you such classified data and you are attacking, me?!" _ **What the hell! They are pretty violent. Well it will be a lie if I tell him I have nothing to do with Orochimaru. Though not the way they think! Ugh... Why does everything has to be so complicated? I have had enough of this already for the past 17 hours**_ "I am the only way out of your problem and you are trying to kill me?" He said with a provoking and determined look.

A sinister laugh slipped out of Kisame's lips "Who said we are trying to kill you? I am just asking you the answer with as much cordiality I can muster for any companion of that snake-head and if you don't answer properly; I'll chop your hands and legs then inject that medicine of yours' to see whether you wi-"

Itachi obstructed Kisame's explanation of 'treatment' which he won't allow anyway "What problem are you talking about?"He said with a firm monotone.

"Don't you... feel it?" He said with a tired tone, the side-effects of the medicine were surfacing _ **. Since, the thread broke...**_ "The exhaustion and unimaginable drainage of chakra?" _ **... Their chakra is the only link that is keeping them from vanishing in time. If they use too much chakra, they might just... disappear.**_

His words had gone right through, striking them both really bad. "What about it?" Itachi asked without taking any delay.

 _ **So it wasn't only me? Itachi's condition is already bad and now, what is this punk talking about?**_ "What the hell is matter with you, how do you know?! Isn't this some sick failed teleportation jutsu?!" Kisame was worried about just what kind of mess they had gotten themselves into. _**Those bothersome ninjas were better than this.**_

"Listen carefully and don't take any word of mine as a joke and don't you dare think that I am mentally ill or something. This... is not just any dimensional jutsu. This thread is a forbidden item from the day it was created...It isn't just simple teleportation that you have gone through..." Kurasu made all the possible clarifications which may bother him later on. He wasn't sure about the effectiveness, he made them anyway.

The pinkette took a deep breath, it was like the time had stopped.

"This was Time-travel that you experienced."

* * *

 _ **[A/N] – I hope you enjoyed and... Oh boy, this was a long chapter. If you find anything hard to understand or any flaws or any trouble with my writing style, you can let me be informed. I changed Kisame's characterisation according to my plot, I hope you won't mind.**_

 _ **My special thanks to the script writer of Sherlock Holmes too.**_

 _ **And just in case: – Nee-chan = Older sister**_

 _ **Then again, whether you hated it or by any chances if you liked it – Please leave a review! Till next time. Sayonara! [^_^]**_

 _ **Next chapter – Real or not?**_


	3. Real or not!

_**Kon'nichiva/Namaste dear reader! [^_^]**_

 _ **Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**_

* * *

 **[/Meanwhile]**

The sun was shining as brightly as it could in the chilly month of November. The awaited rays of the almighty sun felt so ambiguously gentle... It was that perfect day of holiday, for which she had been waiting for a while. _**This is peace...**_

The research had exhausted her mentally, but doing what she liked always lightened her head in a quite unexplainable manner.

It was way better than her old days as the head of Strategic squad. She was so glad that she resigned. The pay was also terrible, now she knew why Lord Jiraiya preferred being an author than being stuck in the village, the 7th Hokage had told her all.

Drinking tea with her respected research colleague cum friend, she was enjoying every bit of the peace that she can. "Have you seen the results? They were quite unexpected. I never thought that it will start showing such adverse effects on those with Fire chakra. I think I'll need to re-examine all your data."

He replied "You think, there's something wrong in my database? It's well maintained data; don't look down upon my men."

She placed the empty cup of tea on the table "Don't misunderstand. Your assistant is correct, I myself believe that there's just need to change a few points of pressure but it's always better to be safe than sorry."

He nodded "This is not that big of an experiment and the subjects are not affected that badly. They'd recover in no time."

She stared at him "If you were having trouble, you should have told me before hand, it could have saved so much time and troubles of the 'volunteers' Orochimaru."

 ** _Yes, volunteers..._** _He_ took a sip of his tea and replied "But I was afraid that I'll disturb your main project. You have been working on non-contact chakra flow for quite sometime...Well, it was just a small experiment and I feel like I have been relying on you way too much that it's inappropriate."

She chuckled at the statement "C'mon you have gotten old... If you won't rely on youngsters then you might die sooner than expected." And added "It's about time you reconsider my advice." With a mischievous gleam in her eyes which popped a nerve on his forehead.

"I am not old, I am not dying and most definitely; I am not marrying. Keep that in mind, Sarada Uchiha." She was the first person who had succeeded in coaxing 'The Orochimaru'.

"But I didn't say anything about marriage, did I?" She grinned indicating the outset for an argument.

Sarada was 12 when she had to spend her summer with the great Sannin. Over the years, their relationship had taken a very friendly shape. And Sasuke was left scolding himself for the insincere decision of introducing them both to each other, just the idea of Orochimaru rubbing off his daughter gave him the creeps but he would have never anticipated that his daughter would rub off to him instead. No matter in what way he saw it, it was way scarier.

The heated argument whose scope varied from marriage, kids to chakra fruit subsided at the mere knock at the door.

"Come in."

It was Orochimaru's assistant – Lia, along with a letter in her hand. "Sarada-san, there's a mail for you; it's from Konoha."

She slouched back on her chair _**Must be Konohamaru-sensei's whining about the paperwork...**_ "Read it, it'll be long. I am sure."

"Um...but sensei..." Lia said hesitantly "There's a classified seal."

 _ **Seal?**_ "Okay... I'll take care of it. Thanks." She gave a quick glance to Orochimaru and left the scene in seconds. She went straight towards her room and opened the authorised seal.

As her eyes scanned the document, she was left with pure anger and worry which reflected the unconscious activation of her doujutsu. _**This is impossible!**_ She left without bothering to inform anyone as the words of the letter echoed in her head.

"Uchiha Sarada,

Your little brother is missing. The safe-house has been investigated very thoroughly. No signs of struggle were found; we are still looking for any leads. We are assuming that the attack had occurred yesterday, right after the double check was done. I believe that he's still alive and rescue team has already started to make movements. Arrive at the designated location as soon as you read this. Your assistance can increase the probability of his prevalence drastically.

-Konohamaru Sarutobi"

She took out a small black thread. _**Thank goodness, I had prepared one straight to the safehouse. Hang in there, Kurasu.**_ She injected some chakra into it and after sometime... disappeared.

 **[/Back to the forest]**

Kurasu had his eyes closed; he was meditating, to get a grip on his fit of drowsiness. He had explained every piece information he had in detail and the kind of situation they were in but...

"Stop messing around, kid." It took a couple of minutes for Kisame to process just what he had heard. And after he did, he was burning with irritation. He had tied Kurasu upside down on the branch of a tree. "Just tell us the truth already." He poked the pinkette's head lightly with a stick.

Itachi had allowed this much after trying to ask him the 'truth' in a civilised manner, he was refraining from using his sharingan on him but he had still kept it up as the last resort. _**What a tiresome day.**_

"Sir...will you stop doing that, please?" Kurasu said with a polite reference to Kisame's 'treatment' and a plan in his head. _**Just 'hanging around' won't do any good, I need to try convincing them. It was probably too abrupt for them to adopt.**_ "I don't understand what you are asking me, I have told you everything. And still, why are you treating me in such an unacceptable manner?"

Kisame said while continuing to poke his head "You want me to believe your nonsense?"

"I can prove it." He pointed his statement more towards Itachi than kisame.

Itachi asked "And how will you do that?"

"I am an Uchiha. You can ask me anything about the Uchiha."

It sounded so stupid to Itachi, _ **Sasuke and 'that man' are the only Uchihas alive other than me...**_ "So, what can you tell me?"

Kurasu took a deep breath "In our clan's secret shrine, there's a stone table which can only be read by those with a sharingan and there's even more written on it if you have a mangekyou sharingan. I can tell you the entire manuscript word by word. I have it all by heart..."The 10-year old stole a glance of Kisame, it was not something he could say out loud so he lip synced the whole manuscript very minutely.

What followed was some sort of staring competition from both the parties, Kisame suddenly felt left out.

 _ **That manuscript sure is a secret...If this kid knows it all then...**_ Itachi approached him "Then I assume you have a sharingan."

 _ **Damn it, I knew he'll say that. Damn it! Damn it!**_ Kurasu bit his lip, it was like the entire universe was trying to put salt in his wound "I don't. But..." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _**"Moron, you not having a sharingan makes you way more dangerous than others. Sharingan is not the only thing that makes the Uchiha clan strong; we are not animals who are nothing without their claws. You are a shinobi of the finest kind, just keep on polishing yourself. I know, you are strong; everybody does, just you don't know."**_ He recited Sarada's words in his head. _**Nee-chan... Where are you...**_ He just wanted to see her, just one glimpse.

Kisame said "Itachi" He sounded rather different. It wasn't the tone of 'I want to beat this kid', it had an element of surprise in it. "I think we have visitors."

"Look! I found him! We found our money!" It was one of those local criminals who had planned to handover him to 'them'. He had come with what seemed like around a 50 people or so. Kurasu was even able to recognise the face he least wanted to – Bhuta. One of the henchmen of Vinashak ;The leader of the group of bounty hunters chasing after the direct descendants of the Uchiha.

 _ **Why is Bhuta with them?! Did he join forces with these midgets?**_ He started moving frantically to get out of the clutch of the ropes and stole a glance of Kisame standing up with a grin on his face. "Hey don't you get what I said?! If you'll use chakra or over exhaust yourself, you'll die!"

"Enough with your nonsense, I think you don't know who I am. I'll move a finger and they all will turn into dust. First I'll get them and then you'll be next." Kisame said getting ready for some exercise.

Kurasu wanted to face-palm, but he was tied up. _**He's crazy.**_ He shouted at Itachi "Hey, don't tell me you still don't believe me?! Listen to me and stop your crazy partner who is going out there to commit suicide! Bhuta is not that easy of an opponent, he's a goddamn A-class criminal!" _**if they die we don't know what kind of changes might occur! 'You should never meddle with time.'**_

"So you are saying that we should just stand and let them kill us anyway?" Itachi replied.

Kisame took care of 10 of the small fries at first and then his speed deviated. The exhaustion was terrible and Samehada's chakra support was a great help, at some point he wanted to use a jutsu but he was surprised that he couldn't. Either his chakra control had gotten bad all of a sudden or what Kurasu was saying was the truth. And he hated to admit that it was the latter.

Bhuta was standing at a distance, waiting for the right moment to arrive.

Itachi was refraining from using sharingan, it was not like he was having any hard time, he was easily fighting with them by taijutsu alone. But it was so exhausting and the enemies kept on coming. He had begun to take some damage.

Meanwhile Kurasu also broke free from the ropes and was assisting Itachi as much as he could, though he was out of chakra, his spirit was definitely something. _**His speed and accuracy are pretty good for a genin.**_ Itachi noted while trying to formulate a plan out of the situation, he already felt like blacking out.

Despite being halfway asleep, Kurasu was pushing himself and going with everything he had _**Tomatoes...**_ The name of his formidable enemy _**All these are god damn tomatoes! You cannot lose against them!**_ Right then a swift arm came; he tried to doge it on instinct but got stabbed in his arm.

The man said "I believe that your death will most definitely make your dad and sister come out of their rat holes. Unless they don't care about you." they had been waiting for Itachi to get away from Kurasu so that they can get him. "AAARRGGHHHH!" Kurasu growled with pain, he felt his strength fading away. The kunai was poisoned and it was spreading very fast. _**It hurts...Nee-chan...Why do you disappear when I need you the most?**_ Right then he saw something _ **...a hand...a hand? Oh god...you?!**_

It was like the gods had wanted to punish him for something he had no idea about.

"Kairou-san...?"

* * *

 **[A/N] Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. [^_^]**

 **Things are finally starting to move, eh? Then again, whether you hated or liked it; please post a review and give the 'leave a review campaign' a light push. [^_^] Please?**

 **Next chapter – The twisted child**


	4. The Twisted Child

**Kon'nichiva/Namaste dear reader! [^_^]**

 **Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Kairou-san...?" He was confused whether he should be happy or sad.

"Are you alright?" She asked him as he noticed many snakes attacking the rogue ninjas, being accompanied by a few more ninjas of the rescue team.

 _ **Her tone indicates that she still hasn't checked her wardrobe.**_ "I am poisoned but I will sustain for a few hours, I won't let it spread. You must be more worried about Bhuta. I don't know where he is right now but I had seen him." He calmed his tone.

She chuckled "Don't worry. I'll inform Sarada-san about your deeds later on."

He sighed beneath _**So, she knows...**_

"And Bhuta..." _ **So, he was the one?**_

A kunai flew at Kurasu, Kairou diverted it. She noticed that it was from the man who had attacked him earlier.

"Stand back, Uchiha." He made hand signs but before he can complete them, Kairou crushed the attacker's hand and tried to savage those burdensome, low-level criminals surrounding him, they all jerked back.

Inojin rolled in to Kurasu after helping out Kairou. "Kairou! You take Kurasu. We are almost finished here; the rest of the rescue team has also arrived."

She nodded.

Then awkward silence settled in, he said "Did... Sarada got the word?"

She said rather hesitantly "She was...really-really pissed. I wonder if the Hokage will be able to find a way out of this mess."

Oblivious to what the grownups were talking about, Kurasu was more tensed about what was happening in front of him. He was barely able to stay conscious but he clearly saw the rescue team attacking Kisame and Itachi. Despite being worn out, he mustered the energy to chip in "Hey Inojin-san... Your people are attacking the wrong guys..."

The sudden interruption startled him, "A-ahh...Umm...What? You know them?"

Kurasu repeated "Those two..." he pointed a finger _**I hope swordsman will understand**_ "are my..." Inojin waited curiously "henchmen... they are exhausted. So, stop your men right now."

 _ **Henchmen?**_ He eyed the young Uchiha suspisciously "Kurasu, I want to listen the details of since when did you g-"

"I said stop your men right this moment. Or else..." Kurasu narrowed his eyes, he looked somewhat comical in contrast to the kind of face he was trying to make.

Kairou wanted to say "Oh, you friggin' imbecile! You don't understand in what kind of situation you are in." but she kept it to herself knowing her place. _**Such a twisted idiot.**_

Inojin was barely able to contain his laughter. _**Leave that stupid face aside... to think he can pull off a threat even in this condition...Damn, he's not your normal guy.**_ It didn't take Inojin very long to realise just what his threat meant. "Hey! They are with us! Leave them." _ **Two grown up, sturdy-looking strangers...I hope he understands what he is doing.**_

Itachi and Kisame were terribly exhausted. The three of them – Kurasu, Kisame and Itachi shared a meaningful look with each other. Inojin and Kairou wondered what was going on.

Inojin was a little worried, to whether send them with Kairou or not but Kairou gave him an assuring nod. _**Well, they don't look like they are in any condition to attack. And, Sarada will be joining us any moment by now.**_ "Kairou, I'll be counting on you. And Kurasu, can you handle a single [Teleportation]?"

He took a deep breath "No, I want to wait till Nee-chan comes." _**Me going to Konoha unprepared will be the death of me. I can only trust Nee-chan.**_

 _ **Damn, this kid.**_ Kairou was so annoyed and restless, she didn't want to go and leave her respected mentor and captain alone either, but she had to! That was what the order from the higher ups was! "Look, Kurasu. We don't know where Taichou is and how long it'll take her to come here. You are poisoned; do you know just how critical your condition is?"

Kurasu was irritated as well "I know it much well than you do, I have taken a few safety measures myself! Don't you have a midic here?! I guess you are forgetting something. I do not come under Konoha's area of jurisdiction, so I have no reason to bid by you. I don't trust any of you and as for my Nee-chan's condition, you know better than me that she must be headed this way and will be here in minutes." _**The hell is wrong with them.**_

"You...!" Kairou plunged to grab his collar but Kisame got in the middle.

 _ **This kid is my only way out of this mess, I won't let you even touch a single strand of his hair.**_ "Step aside. Annoying woman..."

Inojin jumped in the middle before Kairou can let out her anger "Easy there~" He placed a hand on Kairou's shoulder. "I know that you are angry, Kurasu... anyone who'll have to go through experiences like this will get irritated but you need to control your emotions sometimes. It's okay if you don't trust us. But don't forget that it's Konoha who has taken care of you till now. So, just listen and don't make any hasty moves." _**Let's be honest, I don't like him.**_ Inojin had tried hard to get along with the 10 year old but just was never able to.

Itachi observed Kurasu, _**Just why were those people so desperate to catch him and listening to this, it feels like there's still friction between the Uchiha clan and Konoha.**_

It just seemed too frustrating to Kurasu that someone he didn't like was telling him that he is wrong without even knowing what actually was going on. _**These mongrels... only know how to howl. Living inside their rat holes...Acting like they know what's going on, just leave me already. Ugh...this is so frustrating.**_ He seethed of anger on his luck. _**I am sorry Inojin but I am not going to Konoha...**_ "You...a mere 17 year old is telling me this?" He made fun of him, moving his eyebrows mocking him mercilessly.

This popped a vein on Inojin's head _**Don't act like you are not 10 year old who isn't even a genin**_ "I was the first chunnin of our batch"

"The fastest and the only misfit of that batch. How awesome."

 _ **If he wouldn't have been Sarada's brother I would have buried him right now...What a huge burden on earth...**_ "I don't need to justify this to you." _**"What about you? Despite being Sasuke Uchiha's son, you still haven't awakened your sharingan. Sarada was almost a chunnin at your age. Rascal..."**_ Only he knew how desperately he wanted to say that but he knew how much Sarada valued Kurasu and saying something like this will ruin his friendship with her.

"Oh really?" Kurasu smirked "My dad was one of the two strongest ninjas at that age..." _**Thanks to him, I am feeling calmer. Well, I must sound like an idiot, I know...But I need to buy some time and let go of my resentment and this guy is the best punchbag. I'll treat dad with ramen when I visit Konoha next time as an apology of using his name.**_

Kairou gave out an extremely disgruntled grunt "AHHH! It can't be helped then! We'll wait. Taichou will fry us if we leave him alone."

Inojin nodded. _**Sarada, I hope she'll restrain herself. She's smart enough to understand that stirring up noise at a time like this will get her life in danger... Laying low is the best resort for her and her family.**_

 **[400 metres away...]**

He had his sword pointed on her neck "What's up doc? Aren't you even a bit concerned that your head can go rolling any moment from now?"

She grinned "Just do it already."

* * *

 **[A/N] – Thanks a ton for all those follows, favs and kind reviews. I never expected to get a reaction like that, I am really glad I was able to write something which interested you all.**

 **Well, Does this chapter feel out of sync? It originally wasn't in the plot and I wrote it in a quite frantic manner to be honest. But** **I felt the need of it. It's a pretty short chapter too... Anyways, if anything confuses you, just write in the reviews or PM me. I am still growing. Hahahahaha [^_^;]**

 **Then again! Whether you hated it or liked it; please write a review! [^o^]**

 **Next Chapter – The tension**


	5. The Tension

**Kon'nichiva/Namaste dear reader! [^_^]**

 **Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or any of its characters but I own this fanfic and its plot.**

* * *

 _ **[/Eight years ago...]**_

 _16_ _th_ _November, 20XX_

 _TIME – 3:12 AM_

 _*sniffle* *sniffle*_

 _The dismal air reeked of blood...It was like the spirit of that house was singing a song describing hatred begrudgingly. The happiness, the liveliness had been overlapped by truth._

 _The happening of that night were made to be embedded into its memory, forever._

 _No could think that hiding beneath an assemblage of treacherous blood could be two unripe lives, trying to hide their existence from the fearsome world._

 _The burden over their heads was excruciating but they held their ground sturdily...withstanding the repellent feel of lifeless flesh and blood over them. Their minds had lost any need of comfort long before, what reigned over them at that moment was fear and fear alone._

 _The little two-year old sniffled in the safe arms of his elder sister while she clutched him firmly; trying to keep her own tears in check._

 _She had her eyes closed, with wrinkles of continuous effort all over them; fearing the echoes of her own breath, she just couldn't let go of the responsibility befallen on her._

 _... Life had run out of her a long ago but she didn't want to let the younger one know, she couldn't break. Not yet._

 _Suddenly, the sound of light steps filled the air._

' _Hush! Someone is coming...' She whispered into the ears of the two year old. She covered her mouth and tightened her grip over him._

' _...Inside the manor...we are entering the kitchen and there's a lady down here...' Came a lightly muffled voice from outside._

' _This is her!'_

 _The 10-year old stopped breathing._

' _Hn...One of them has been identified as...the mistress of the house. The other corpses are probably the said mistress' doing. There are no signs of life. Any further orders, sir?'_

 _ **[Present]**_

 _ **Why am I remembering that day? I need to focus!**_ Sarada had been running for hours. Everything had been going so, perfect. Finally the pieces of her life had begun to assemble together. The conflicts had started to get cold. She had made sure that it'll remain serene till the end but why? Why was everything falling apart?

Why?

"Taichou, we have tracked them. We'll clash in 4 minutes" Said Kairou from the wireless.

Sarada suddenly came to a halt _**My sensor didn't get anything...a sensor-type ninja was necessary after all.**_ "How many?"

"38, there are a lot of movements; probably something fishy is going on over there and...Someone is approaching our side and by the looks of the situation, it doesn't look like he's uncertain about our presence. That one will catch up in almost 3 minutes at that speed, maybe sooner..."

 _ **We have 15 team members excluding me, we are outnumbered quite clearly. Though from the specifics I got, this team specialises in these kinds of battles...**_ "How is the chakra distribution?"

"For a group of 30 above members, the magnitude of chakra isn't very high. I think they are not very high level ninjas. And the other one is showing tremendous fluctuation in chakra, what control...he's trying to confuse us."

 _ **A one man ambush...There are two possibilities, either he's confident in his abilities to approach alone or he has back up and if either of my intuitions is correct...It'll get troublesome if we slow down.**_ "Split in a canopy formation and leave a teleportation mark. I'll meet up with the secluded one and join you all soon enough"

"Count it done, taichou."

 _ **Working with greenhorns is always troublesome.**_ "…Focus and don't forget to update me."She sighed deeply. _**I need to trust them a bit; they are 'my team'... for now.**_ She took out a scroll and a black thread. _**Come to think of it, since when did I start to refer them to as 'greenhorns'? I sound like a pathetically old woman.**_ She made quick hand-signs and disappeared in a fraction of second. _ **...Ridiculous**_

The moment her feet touched the ground, she was running. She wouldn't have admitted but she was thrilled, beyond recognition. So much that she didn't notice that her comms had fallen during the teleportation and there was no other way she could contact her team again. A little band on her hand began to glow. _ **Hmm...Vinashak? Wow, it escalated quickly.**_

The moment she took out her sword, she was grinning without even realising it. Her hands had been itching for months. Especially, since the whole thing with the bounty hunters started; there was a part of her which craved blood, a part which she wasn't quite aware of herself.

She made quick hand signs – _**I finally get to pay him back.**_

She attacked the moment her target appeared. Both of their swords crashed, their eyes met and they jerked back together.

Bhuta had gotten quite disappointed when he sensed that the opponent team was playing pitiful games with him. He didn't become a bounty hunter for ambushing or killing people with stealth. He had just one ideal in life – To kill, but with grace.

But, when he felt a presence approaching him at an incredible speed... He was astounded at first – Who can be so fast? And the answer which his inner instinct gave was very soothing.

'The speedster of Konoha – Boruto Uzumaki.'

Then he got a jolt of astonishment, he had lifted up his sword almost by instinct beforehand. He had been lucky that his sword was out. Or else he wouldn't have been counted among the living any more. His sword was damaged; he wasn't sure whether he could use it or not but one thing was sure...

 _ **Who is it, coming out of nowhere? A small figure wearing a black hood, 'Bolt' Uzumaki is not so small! And wait a minute...that sword is...I have seen it somewhere. Yes! It was on that book's front page. 'The mechanism of the 7 swords of the mist...'**_ He eyed her thoroughly.

 _It was sure that...He was not going to regret this._

Her face was covered so it didn't look like it but Sarada was annoyed, totally. Her sensor had mistaken a man on Sarada Uchiha's personal hit list with someone who was as big as a boulder in her plans _ **...Bhuta Homura, 'A' class missing nin. This would be the 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **bounty hunter this month right? Ugh…only if it was, Vinashak! I would have ended this all for good!**_

She felt like throwing her most recent creation on the ground and strangling the thin band with her bare hands.

He snickered "My~ my~ how lucky...You don't get to meet such a regardful face everyday, the one and only - Sarada Uchiha?" _ **There's no doubt about it, it's the only person who was able to defame even one of the most well-known scholars.**_ "I am honoured."

 _ **To think I'll meet Bhuta Homura in this kind of situation...Life never fails to test my temper…**_ "Well, my apologies... I am in a kind of hurry, farewell." She just turned when his sword reached her neck in a flick of second.

"Wait a second~. Don't you think it's rude to turn your back on a person you almost killed? Give me your expensive head at the very least so that I can earn some money too, doc." _**Do you think I'd let you go? Sasuke Uchiha might be on the top of my list but you are also one of those people I have always personally dreaded to kill, especially with that big fat bounty your head!**_ He was so glad he didn't return.

She stood there motionlessly.

"What's up, doc? Aren't you even a bit concerned that your head can go rollin' any moment from now?" He was getting irritated of her passiveness.

"Just do it already." A voice came from behind Bhuta.

He turned towards the direction of the voice, "Well, you are stealthy." He said with nonchalance

 _ **And you are lucky.**_ Sarada tilted her head, a gesture she often found herself doing while analysing a situation. _**I can't kill him, killing him means more bounty on my head and more bounty means more bounty hunters and more bounty hunters mean more annoyance. Though getting out of here without killing him won't be very efficient…**_

Bhuta stared at her, he fought to enjoy himself and the thrill he felt in his stomach was getting hard to control. He wanted her to attack first.

For him, Sarada Uchiha was a mystery; someone who had, at some point succeeded in completely vanishing from the face of earth as an Uchiha with such consummacy that some people often gasped upon realising that she was an Uchiha. But he, Bhuta Homura was not the kind to judge people from the outside and he was more than glad about this opportunity to tear apart the façade that the first Uchiha born after the war carried on her face.

Though he couldn't help but feel annoyed at her passiveness "Hey are ya scared?" he said with a provoking grin.

 _ **I think I should just kill him…**_ Sarada had been ticked off wildly for the past week due to her apparent insomnia and her ole' sensei, who totally stole her peace of mind over some absolute gibberish and now came another guy who was trying to test her sanity. Her mind at that moment was truly a marvellous model of repressed emotions and she realised that there are limits beyond which… repressed emotions become deceitful.

So, she was stuck advocating with herself to whether to choose reason or temptation.

And in the end, she had to choose an irate little brother.

The Uchiha heiress put her katana back in and took out a kunai in place and sighed to calm her urges, _**I need to end things properly**_.

She touched the ground and had all her guard down; well as per as what the young man could perceive. "What are you doing standing there with a stupid face?" he asked with annoyance evident all over his face.

"I forfeit." She said with her hands in the air.

"W-what?" Now, bhuta was feeling perplexed wondering if he gave the Uchiha more attention than she deserved, but he was not stupid enough to look down upon a person who wielded the crest of a clan which was well known for their mastery in all kinds of martial skills known. _**This has gotta be a genjutsu.**_ He disrupted his chakra and found a Sarada Uchiha swinging her fist at him. _**I knew it.**_

There were punches, kicks and punches at quick succession, _**they are fairly quick and don't look that heavy.**_ There was a clear opening, _**Not so good at close combat are we?**_ He dodged her and swung his sword using the momentum.

With a gentle touch with her kunai in the other hand, Sarada broke the sword into half and with swift hand movement, took out another kunai and stabbed it in his shoulder. _**Damn!**_ It had hit right on the chakra joint in his shoulder obstructing, his, a ninjutsu specialist's, chakra flow in his right hand which was equivalent to breaking his backbone.

She continuously pounded at him like a thunder bolt; he was barely dodging each of them but there was not a single drop of sweat on her, she went on as if she had fought with him an infinite number of times, she had cornered him in his area in broad day light using nothing more than a kunai, _**It's like she just evolved or something!**_ He wanted to get away from her, more like he _needed_ to get away from that monster which was yet to unleash itself. But she restricted his movements, forcing him to resort to only defence.

As if encoded, using the still buried kunai, Sarada injected chakra paralysed him for a fraction of second and with fluid movement using the same kunai as leverage to move behind him; planted a light punch powered by nothing but the same impetus her movement had granted her.

Bhuta flew a couple of meters away. _**You are impressive, Sarada Uchiha.**_ He said this time keeping his voice to himself _ **Alright, what is the best resort?**_ He stared into her bored empty eyes which didn't have an ounce of uncertainty. She stood there as what _he_ presumed to be in the mindset that it was over.

He grinned cheekily and grabbed his right hand with sheer strength. _**This time I would make sure to shake off that look off your face.**_ With a click he dislocated his shoulder and a hiss escaped from his mouth then again with a sharp movement placed his shoulder in its socket.

 _ **He dislocated his shoulder to re-establish the flow of chakra again. Even though, the re-establishment is a reflex and the immunity to 'painlessness' is merely due to the impact of the situation and he would be growling with unbearable pain very soon, he's remarkable to have pulled off such a stunt. He's not well-informed, he's just a lunatic.**_ And Sarada has always had a soft spot for his kind of lunatic fellas which she often stumbled upon. _**But…**_ She bent down on the ground and tapped it lightly with her finger.

Her actions gave him déjà vu; Bhuta prepared himself to make hand signs though he was sluggish due to slight immobility in his shoulder. _**Here, I go! Land release casca-**_

"Don't even think about it." Sarada said pointing at his feat.

He stopped because something at his feet actually didn't feel good. When he shifted his gaze…

He found his feet stuck in the ground and that was not all, now that he could clearly carvings on the ground- the job of a mole summoner. _**Oh Kami.**_ But such a large scale jutsu required time but as long as he could remember, she had been coming at him continuously! _**When… did she?**_

"A piece of advice - don't use chakra. You'll be soon drained of it anyway…Look, the borderline is, don't die; though the chances are slim. But if you do live, don't forget to tell your fellow teammates how I ran away scared of your awesomeness and in case you die…Well, rest in peace." She said monotonously.

And she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Bhuta stood unresponsively, but peace was something unheard of at the moment.

 _ **Damn you, Uchiha.**_

Sarada felt unbelievably discouraged, _**I really wanted to end it right there and gather some evidences to end this entire bounty hunter trouble for once. But this was also not so very bad considering my situation. I am a little bit out of chakra; the continuous teleports and the summonings...And I ran out without having recovered my chakra from the experiment so, it could have gotten risky if I hadn't summoned Miru(the mole) beforehand. It had been a while since I enjoyed fighting with someone with as good taijutsu as that Vinashak guy. And...No matter how much I trust Kairou and Inojin, Kurasu won't go along with them. I also lost my comms... I wish he's good enough to complain, that'd be great.**_

When she was being taken over by her urges, her senses had returned all thanks to a picture of Kurasu appearing in her head, angrily jumping and blaming her mercilessly "I despise you! You just relied on everyone but didn't you have even a bit of concern for me? No, you wanted to fight a midget. AM I NOTHING TO YOU?!" _**That unblockable knock out line – "Am I nothing to you?" A cheery Kurasu is always better than a pissed off one.**_

She headed straight towards the sight. _**All my efforts have turned to dust...pht...What was the use of staying low all this time?**_ She sighed. _**I'd make sure to put a proper word in the Hokage's ears this time; he has been taking me way too lightly.**_

As she ascended further, she sensed their presence. Increasing her speed, she got even more impatient as a pink figure appeared in her vision.

"Kurasu!" She yelled.

"Nee-chan!" He rose with the speed of light. Only a single feeling of her presence filled his mind with an influx of adreline.

Ignoring everybody else she wrapped him in her arms, "Oh lord...Do you know, how much worried I had been?" She loosened her grip as she felt him suffocating.

"Too strong." He breathed heavily "I always tell you to help me with my chakra control bu-" before he could complete the sentence, he lost consciousness.

"EH!" Kairou exclaimed "Taichou, what have you done?!" Inojin had a quite similar face.

Itachi and Kisame exchanged knowing faces. Kurasu had made them aware a couple minutes ago that he wasn't going to last very long and that they should show Sarada the thread if she interrogates them which she was likely to do.

Sarada slapped Kurasu a couple of times, she was quite flabbergasted herself. Examining the cut on his arm, she said "He's been...poisoned?"

Kairou hesitated "I-I was a-about to tell you. Haha..." she touched her nose nervously but Sarada's face was as rigid as a rock, she wanted answers.

"Don't worry. We have taken some safety measures, the medics have given the antidote to him, but...It seems to be working rather slowly."

She lied him down and loosened his robes a little "He has a slight fever...Hm..." She checked his pockets and found an empty syringe. "Hell..." she sighed. "Ofcourse...the side effects are surfacing. He needs some rest and glucose right now."

"It isn't serious right?" Kisame asked abruptly.

"Who are you?" Sarada asked darting a raised eyebrow at him.

Itachi stepped in "We are..." _**"Soon, here will be a woman in black hair, named Sarada Uchiha. Tell her, you are my henchmen and show the thread. She'd understand the situation and from there onwards... follow her."**_ It was a serious matter and at the same time it was very embarrassing for him, being a henchman of a 10 year old, not to mention he was probably his nephew. "Kurasu's..."

"Friends." Kisame chipped in.

* * *

 **[A/N] –Well, then this is it. I hope you enjoyed. [^_^]**

 **And just in case – Taichou= Captain (I am not a Jap.)**

 **My characterisation of Sarada Uchiha, is dedicated to the magician Aasha Rohiro (The old and magnificent one) from Kubera who belongs to Currygom. I did so because you don't come across characters as complex as Aasha, everyday. I liked her old setting. Though I mended Sarada accordingly, you may get to see some similar points since Aasha was the one who popped in my head while writing about Sarada. I don't know why though, maybe because of their popularity?**

 **Then again, whether you hated it or liked it –please, post a review! [+o+]**

 **Next chapter – It's my way or the sky way.**


	6. It's my way or sky way!

**Kon'nichiva/ Namaste dear reader! [^_^]**

 **Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

"Friends" Kisame chipped in. No way in hell was he going to become the henchman of someone who wasn't another Kisame! No, he was the kind to 'have' the highest numbers of henchmen globally, not the kind to become one.

Itachi sighed. He was rather comforted by Kisame's abstruse interruption. At times like this he was glad that the time will pass no matter what.

They only got a single moment of peace, in that kind of condition even that was a luxury to them.

Too bad, they were unaware of the fact that Kairou was ready to bombard them with questions "But I have never seen or heard about you. Forget me; even Sarada-san has no idea about you guys! And we know that Kurasu isn't the kind to befriend anyone out of the blue, hell that creep will never befriend sane people!"

Kairou's statement ignited conspiracy, her Yamanaka teammate was agitated by it. Inojin placed his agitation into a whisper "Hey Kairou you don't address a problem child as a creep..." as a futile attempt to 'correct' his teammate's mistake.

"Silence" He was interrupted by Sarada, who had a very clear vein popped on her forehead. _**What ninjas...I can hear them loud and clear**_ "...then, can you please tell me where you are from? Because, I am sure that you are not registered ninjas from Konoha, Suna or Ame at least..." The suspicions she had were grave, adding up to it, it was 'that' face which she just wasn't sure if she was ready to face yet.

"Well..." a smile crept its way on Itachi's face, he took out his half of the thread. "We are from a different village."

"Yes, we are" Kisame stated his unnecessary approval along with the thread dangling in his fingers.

 _ **That is...**_ Sarada cocked an eyebrow and a directionless 'Ah...' escaped from her lips. "I see. It's justified then." She said with not much noticeable change in her tone.

"Mind me, telling the name of this 'different village' of yours'?" inojin inquired, pointing the question more towards Sarada.

She smiled an uncanny smile so bright, capable of causing tan right away. "Well, did you not hear it? It's 'a different village'."

"But that's not the name of a village, right?" He said with bubbling curiosity like that of a child, painfully unwary. Not quite picking up the clear voice behind those words.

But Kairou was sharp; she nudged him hard in his rib and covered his mouth, quite inhumanly; not even letting him let his wail out. "Of course it is! How foolish...hahaha!"

He struggled to be free; he had too many questions left to be answered. But Kairou dragged him away from the company. "It's almost dark. We have to...uh... take a look at the damage. We'll be right back."

Sarada gave them an assuring nod and mumbled "There was no need for a team of 15 like this in the first place. I told him that it was wastage of commodities..." Nobody seemed to take her suggestions seriously and it tired her.

Silence settled in.

She took a good look at the team. _**This is squad 46...my squad...Yet why does it not feel like it?**_ There was no face other than Kairou and Inojin that was familiar to her. They were all busy, doing their parts of job. Their wandering gazes sometimes clashed with hers, followed by a smile out of courtesy. Maybe that's why she moved her gaze to the sky _**I feel like a leftover of the mighty history.**_

"Back to Earth?" Kisame hovered his hand in front of her face. He was curious and finally he had someone capable of answering his questions, someone who was fairly close to an adult and seemed to be quite assuring to him. "Spacing out in bright day light isn't a very good sign."

"I hadn't spaced out." She replied sternly, it had kind of hurt her pride.

"Who are you?" Itachi said, his voice turning hoarse.

"This place is not good for me to lift that matter. I don't want any uproar about this. But...I can assure you that, you'd be treated accordingly to your intentions." She answered with a considerable change in her facial expressions. The once calm features were now somewhat in an inexpressible turmoil.

She cleared her throat "Then...can you give me a brief insight of your condition? We need to move fast."

Kisame had a bad feeling about this "May I ask, for what good reason you are asking about that?"

"Well...on a second thought, I should just see it for myself." She closed her eyes and opened them gently, revealing the crimson red eyes. _ **Like this I can confirm my theories... hmm... Their chakra flow is disturbed; the colour of their chakra is clearly growing dim...**_ "It's a wonder that you guys are still conscious. So, it was true after all..." _**someone who knew how to open my safe and knew how to use this was involved in this...**_ On one hand she was infuriated but on the other... _**It sure narrows down the list of suspects to just 2 such people who can pull off this stunt.**_

Itachi observed her...It was still unbelievable for him that such a thing was possible. "What is true?"

She deactivated her sharingan "We can talk when we get home."

It sounded a tad unfamiliar to Itachi. _**Home...**_ It had been a while since he had heard the word itself. However it didn't have a similar ring to it for Kisame, he placed words to his suspicions, his sanity depended on it after all. "And 'how' are we going to this 'home'?"

There...Sarada hoped that, this part will go unnoticed till the end. "Well..." she placed a smile on "[Teleportation] sure is tough in the beginning but as you get use-"

"I refuse to travel anywhere with you." Kisame stated clearly. He had made a solemn oath with himself that he will never touch a black thread other than the one which led straight towards his old life.

Sarada sighed "Then you can chose, whether you want to die because of exhaustion or face some short-lived dizziness."

"We will go." Itachi declared while giving her a promising look.

He placed Kisame in an awkward situation from where he had no way out. _**Itachi-san, at this rate you are going to get me killed!**_ Itachi made sure to not to look back at him.

After letting Inojin, the actual captain of the team, know about her plans she buckled up to leave. Inojin seemed to be a bit sceptical about her reasoning but did not ask any further due to the immense faith between them...She placed a gentle peck on Kurasu's forehead and tied him on her back. _**Enough, wastage of time has been done.**_

"Everyone ready?" She asked for the last time when she was done tying up the threads. She was answered with a nod by her two co-travellers. As she had instructed them to, they all three held one end of each thread and after making some swift hand signs, they disappeared in the similar fashion.

 **[At the old Uchiha Manor]—**

The land was already the embodiment of darkness; it had been a while since someone had stepped into the house

"Mmm...this house seems to be just perfect." Came a voice from a shady figure, he had just opened the back door. _**The lock was really complex; it took me a whole 10 minutes to only figure out the pattern. The owner must be a psych, to place a lock like that in such a ghostly empty house.**_ He lifted up the small bag from the ground. _**Anyways,**_ _**It is perfect to stay here in this commotion, funnily enough no-body seems to be even trying to search me around this house, are all konoha-nins such idiots?**_ Little did he know about the owners of that house...

He was a new visitor in the village with the occupation which is considered to be the most noble among all the dark professions of the society – Theft.

His first step inside was followed by a crashing sound, right behind him. He turned around with utmost agility only to find two men unconscious on the ground and a hooded lass barely able to stand up.

 _ **Damn...**_ Sarada had just lost a gamble. _ **I am so done with it...**_ A few days ago, an idea had plagued her mind. She had been studying the teleportation threads to increase their efficiency. She thought – What if...I use some mild chakra flow variations instead of sharp ones? The teleportation might get a bit more comfortable and could open the doors for ill people in case of emergency.

She decided to try out her theory. But instead of making it go comfortable, the teleportation almost failed, she had to increase the intensity of chakra flow to tackle the situation or else they might have gotten thrown out in the middle of the journey. They succeeded in reaching the designated destination but, it was a much rough journey. And there the result lay right in front of her.

She used palm pressure points to control the nausea. She stood up; the world appeared to be shaking like a guitar string. In the midst of the blurry vision, she saw a dark presence. "You..." Her eyes inspected his frame. _**No, it's not him. He's much bigger. This man also has a kunai out...**_ "Who are you?"

"Me?" He kept his kunai up for defence. _**How can a young girl like this appear out of the blue? I did not feel any presence beforehand.**_ "I am...uh...first tell me who you are."

Her eyes inspected his face with the blurriness gone. _**Ah...I know this face. Hatoshi Rahane**_. She had read his profile while narrowing down the number of suspects of the robbery. _**He's the well-known lock breaker from Amegakure...**_

"Well," she removed the hood "I live here. And you?"

"Um..." _**Wait, I don't know why, but I feel like I have seen this face somewhere before. She does not look dangerous; I can have my time squeezing in some sense into them later.**_ Causing some uproar now, could make him lose his place for night stay, so he decided to play safe. "I came here to meet you...miss..."

She smiled "Sarada."

He laughed meekly "Yes, yes. Miss Sarada..." _**Sarada? God, tell me I am wrong...**_

"By...Breaking into the house?" She smiled.

"Well...nobody was answering the door so..." He tried to make a joke out of it.

"So, you thought that you can break into the house." There was a constant smile on her face.

"No. I mean, I thought something was wrong..."

"Because, the door had been manually locked and appeared to be fairly normal. Hm?" She really felt it, the amateur con-man was faltering. _**It is fun...**_

"I was...uh..." He felt somewhat hot in the month of November. _**Think fast Hatoshi!**_

"It's justified. Hatoshi Rahane"

"What?" He was confused whether his ears heard right or not.

"Why don't we talk after you help me out in getting them inside?" She pointed her finger towards Kurasu and other two partners on the ground, with the same smile etched on her face.

 _ **So, she knows. Huh?**_ His face turned stern "And...Why do I need to do that?" He injected some chakra into the kunai.

"Well, why not?" Not lowering the intensity of her smile at all.

* * *

 **[A/N] – I hope you enjoyed. It was not a very long chapter but it wasn't very short either. I would really like to know whether you like my pacing or I need to move things a little fast. I feel like I am going a little too slow. I had intended to introduce, 4 of my own characters - Kairou, Vinashak, Bhuta and Hatoshi (The characters which will have effect on the plot.) and its done.**

 **I use a lot of dialogues because...I'll confess, I am hopelessly directionless on the matter of what I should do to move from one scene to another scene. I have liked writing dialogues and that's what I have always written, till I entered fanfic-verse. Yes, you did hit my nerve dear anonymous reader by the name of ' '. I am quite confused on the matter myself, it's the horror of my writing career till now which is that of a novice. And it's been clear for years that I need some guidance, though I'll work on it no matter I get it or not.**

 **I thought about this story months ago and the ideas kept on piling up and I am having a little hard time putting it all on paper. So, I am barely going with my original plot which is idiotically ironic, lol. (Fanfictions are tougher than I thought. *a solemn salute to those who write awesome fanfictions*) I think I am in a serious need of some serious scolding. (I think?)**

 **Well, I didn't go through this chapter, so there might be some mistakes and typos. Let me knnow if you find any. I wasn't able to upload because of some internet issues. I hope I won't have them till my next life. (I mean, who wants to pay bills.)**

 **Anyways, whether you liked it or even if you hated it, please leave a review. [^_^]**

 **Next chap – Catch the time!**


End file.
